A: I think it would definitely get more competitive. However, the differentiating factor will still be the financial consultant himself. He needs to have excellent soft skills apart from technical knowledge. It would be critical or important for him to possess very good communication skills and to be customer-service oriented because this business is very much built on relationships. As the saying goes, “insurance is not bought, it’s sold”. People don’t get up in the morning and suddenly decide to buy an insurance policy.

Also, customers today are becoming more informed and educated so a good financial planner must have both product and technical knowledge. In terms of products, there are always the base products for whichever life-stage you are at. Whether you have just graduated and started work, or you have just given birth, there are already a full range of products in the market to take care of your savings, investments and protection needs. These are the three main needs for an individual as far as financial planning is concerned.

But for the next 5 to 10 years, what we may see is a much greater focus on retirement planning. You have probably heard or read in the media that Singaporeans are generally not well prepared for their retirement. Most of them don’t realise that their CPF funds are insufficient for their sunset years. Hence, there could be a lot more emphasis and introduction of products that are geared towards helping people plan for their retirement. And when it comes back to the skills set, our financial consultants need to prepare themselves so as to better help customers and fulfill this market potential.